Umrah: practical tips & trips

A little intro

When we started looking for a winter holiday in the autumn, it quickly dawned on us that the money we would spend on an all-in holiday for five people would be as expensive as an Umrah. The choice was then quickly made. My years-long dream would finally become reality, even though the real realisation only came when I actually stood in front of Masjid an Nabawi.

We performed the Umrah in December/January and according to a number of professionals we spoke to it was exceptionally busy. This undoubtedly has to do with the fact that this was the first longer (winter) holiday in which you could travel freely again after all kinds of COVID-related restrictions.

Traveling in December has the advantage that the temperatures are bearable and that you get a little more sleep because 'isja is early and fajr is late. But still, lack of sleep is part of it anyway because you want to earn the reward of every prayer in the holy mosques.

We stayed for 12 days in total. 6 days in Medina and 6 days in Mecca. Of course you always want to stay longer, but this was more than enough to see and do everything. I do recommend going to Medina first and then to Mecca so that you can gradually get into it.

We went with a travel agency. If it is your first time or you are going to perform the hajj then I really recommend this. Choose a reliable (!) agency to make sure that you get from point a to point b without too much stress.

Most travel organizations offer different packages. As a rule, you pay more for a hotel close to the mosques. I personally think this is definitely worth the money since you have to go back and forth five times a day. If you are going with small children, elderly or disabled people, I would not hesitate. Always Google the travel organization/hotels first and check the most recent reviews. These give a good indication. I would recommend going for half board, so you don't have to think too much about what and where to eat.

If at all possible, have a travel companion of the same sex. Because you spend a lot of time in the mosque, you are often separated from your husband or mahram and alone is just alone. I really liked that I always had my daughter with me.

Buy SIM cards for the whole family upon arrival so that everyone can be reached. (Video) calling with Whatsapp is not possible in Saudi Arabia. Facetime (only iPhone) usually worked. We also used the app Imo. There also seems to be an app '1111' with which you can video call via Whatsapp.

Local rules can change quite often, so it's not certain that all my tips will still apply when you go, but at least you'll know what to look out for.

In the luggage

Worn-in slippers are a must. I was very happy with my Birkenstock 'bath slippers'. Easy to put on and take off when visiting the mosque and to keep clean. However, also take worn-in sneakers or sketchers with you for possible excursions. Outside the mosques it is quite dusty and bumpy.

For the ladies: Do not take too many abayaat/headscarves/khumoor. Do provide enough leggings, t-shirts/undershirts, underwear and socks. If you go during the winter, it is best to put a jacket, vest or poncho in your suitcase. It can be quite chilly during fajr and 'isja and you might have to pray outside.

I had 6 abayaat with me for 12 days. You can buy more on the spot. Keep in mind that you will find few abayaat without decoration or frills in the vicinity of the mosques. For men there is enough choice. Most hotels have a laundry if you do want to wash something. I washed my clothes myself with a small box of washing powder that I bought there.

A backpack to put your slippers, books, phone etc. in when visiting the mosque is essential. An umbrella can be handy, both as protection from the sun and - in our case - pouring rain.

It is common knowledge that most women in Saudi Arabia wear the niqab. Here and there I read that women with uncovered faces felt very much looked at by the locals. I did not experience this at all. Wearing the niqab is not a must, unless of course you want to wear it with the right intention when you are there. You will not look out of place with an abaya with a khimar or a long headscarf. That is what 95% of the female pilgrims wear there.

For men: ihram cloths, pins and Vaseline can be found in many shops in Medina so you don't necessarily need to buy them at home unless you are going to Mecca first and then Medina.

The same goes for medication. Provide paracetamol and keep it at hand. Traveling, fatigue and the temperature differences/air conditioning everywhere can quickly give you a headache. When my husband became very ill, I was simply given antibiotics at the pharmacy.

Take enough (pocket) books with you for the plane, the bus and the mosque. Arabic Qurans can be found in the mosques.

Bring a reusable drink bottle to fill with Zamzam water. This is slightly more environmentally friendly than the disposable cups that are available there.

Provide extra bags to put dates and gifts in when returning. With Turkish Airlines it does not matter how many bags you check in, as long as the total weight per family is not exceeded.

You will receive 5 litres of Zamzam water per person at the airport. This is free and will not be counted as part of your luggage. Bring a pen to write your name on the container. Please note that you will only receive this if you travel with an Umrah or Hajj visa. You will not receive this with a regular tourist visa.

Stay in Medina

Our hotel was located on the square in front of the mosque. I quickly noticed that you easily have to be there an hour and a half in advance to find a spot in the mosque when you try to enter through the gate on the square. After a walk around the haram, I discovered that there were other women's entrances, including gate 25. This was a bit of a walk, but definitely worth the walk. I found through that entrance always room, even 15 minutes in advance. For Friday prayers you have to go extra early.

Always bring your own rug. There are rugs everywhere, but especially outside, cleaning is done less often and unfortunately you sometimes find crumbs and food remains. Also watch out for pigeon droppings!

Want to escape the hustle and bustle for a while? Then stay in the mosque between two prayers. The peace you will find there is indescribable. Praying outside at sunset in Medina is something you really have to do. It is breathtaking to see hundreds of rows of Muslims of all origins standing side by side as the sun sets and the sky turns pink above the gigantic parasols.

In Medina, a funeral prayer is performed after almost every prayer. This follows fairly quickly after the obligatory prayer. I recommend praying sunnah prayers only afterwards, otherwise you might miss Janazah. For men: try to attend at least one funeral. You have the best chance if you pray at entrance 37. Go on time and try to get a spot at the front. My husband got this tip from a guard and managed to bury a deceased person. By the way, visiting Al Baqie is only allowed for men, but as a woman you can make dua for the deceased when you walk or drive past.

Nowadays you have to make an appointment via the Nusuk app to visit the Rawda. In our case this was arranged by the travel agency, but if you book everything yourself this is something you have to remember. Finding an appointment within the time that you are there is not easy during busy periods. I would even recommend doing it as soon as you know your visa number. You need this to make an appointment. By doing this system it is possible to pray 2 rak'aat in the Rawda in a relatively comfortable way. After that you are urged to leave quickly. Good to know: if you hear 'Yallah Hajji' called then you know you have to make way. :)

Medina has few places to eat where you can sit with your family. There are quite a few take aways around the haram. Benches and tables are rather scarce.

Do your shopping for the home front preferably in Medina. It is a bit cheaper there and you will have more time for ibaadah in Mecca. Note: in Medina you are not allowed to enter the mosque with shopping bags. Backpacks are allowed, but can be checked. In my opinion they are stricter in Medina than in Mecca.

Stay in Mecca

In Mecca we also had a hotel near the haram. Although I had expected it to be even more difficult to find a place in the mosque, this was absolutely not the case. There was always enough space, even a few minutes before prayer. The mosque, which has been expanded considerably over the years, is gigantic.

There are also clean toilets and wudu rooms everywhere. These are underground. There is almost obsessive cleaning in and around the mosque. So there is certainly no need to go back to the hotel to perform wudu because you think the toilets are dirty.

Unlike Medina, there are no carpets outside the mosque to pray on. So be sure to bring your own. When we were there, there was always room inside, but my husband, who has already performed the hajj, said that during that period, people also prayed outside due to lack of space inside. I suspect that this will also be the case during the month of Ramadan.

In Mecca too, Janazah is performed after each prayer. Here, I felt, the Imams did take the Sunnah prayers into account. I always had enough time to pray these and then get up for the funeral prayer.

Around the haram you have many well-known and lesser-known eateries. In the shopping center at the height of the KFC you have a few floors up a lot of tables and chairs where you can eat quietly. If you lose track of time while shopping or eating, there is a prayer room in the shopping center that is connected to the haram, in the sense that there are loudspeakers.

Whether shopping bags are allowed in Mecca, I don't really know for sure. One guard would let you in and the other wouldn't. So keep that in mind. Backpacks are of course allowed.

Between prayers, the square in front of the mosque is very quiet. You can easily roll out a blanket and rest a bit with your family.

The actual Umrah

The actual Umrah, with Allah's will, you have performed in 3 to 4 hours. Since there are already many books and courses on the actions and supplications, I will not elaborate on this.

Although we had to make an appointment for our Umrah via the Nusuk app, the QR code was not requested. Men can only do tawaf on the ground floor in a state of ihram. Of course, this cannot be checked for women, but I felt safer with my husband there. The Nusuk app does give an indication based on the number of reservations whether it is busy or less busy at the time you want to go.

On the upper floors (indicated with first or second floor mataaf) you can perform tawaf without being in ihram as a man, but there you have hardly any view of the Kaaba because of the barriers that are placed at a distance from the balustrade. The only place where you really have a nice view of the Kaaba is on the ground floor.

My first Umrah was in a group at midnight after a tiring bus ride and hotel check-in. Because I was constantly reminded to stay with the group and supplications were recited in a group, there was little room for personal experience and supplications. It all went very fast and that was not at all how I had imagined my first encounter with the Kaaba. A few days later we performed Umrah again with our family. I was able to experience that to the fullest.

If you want to perform the Umrah a second time, you have to take a taxi or bus to the mosque of Aisha, pray 2 rakaat there and go into ihram again. However, most tour operators do multiple Umrahs and therefore also provide bus transport to the miqaat. The mosque of Aisha is 10 to 15 km from the haram. You can perform your second Umrah in the name of a deceased person or a person who is unable to go. You do have to recite a slightly different dua when you go into ihram.

We started tawaf about an hour and a half before asr, hoping to pray asr at the Kaaba and we succeeded. Just as we were done, everything was closed for prayer. I was able to stay in the place in front of Maqaam Ibraheem where I had prayed my 2 rakaat. You will notice that there are still men in the beginning, but they are urged to leave by the guards. The men then pray at the front and the women at the back (the area just before the Zamzam barrels). Hearing the adhaan while looking out at the Kaaba is truly a priceless moment so I recommend everyone to start tawaf an hour to an hour and a half before any prayer.

My daughter found our first sa'i quite an intense experience because of the enormous crowds. For our second Umrah we therefore chose to perform it on the second floor, where it was much quieter.

Tip: Wear non-slip socks for tawaf and sa'i.

Umrah with children

We went with our 14-year-old twins. The youngest, 9, stayed home. This was a difficult but very conscious choice, and now that I'm back, I support it even more. It sounds wonderful, performing the Umrah with the whole family, but whether it's a good idea depends on a number of factors: 1: your own expectations, 2: your stress resistance and 3: the crowds on site. The Umrah itself only takes a few hours and is perfectly doable with a child, but if you know what reward one prayer in the holy mosques has, then of course you want to perform every prayer there during the entire period that you are there.

Whether it is busy or not, I personally would only take a child with me when he can sit still/keep himself busy for a long time and is already aware of the faith and the value of worship. The Umrah and the stay in Mecca and Medina is physically quite demanding, let alone when you have to take care of one or more small children.

Your life there revolves even more around the five prayers than here and you will have to wake children or keep them awake and then take them to the mosque where it is very busy. If you or your child quickly become overstimulated, it can become difficult. A prayer in the haram of course also takes much longer than an individual prayer at home and you hopefully also want to perform extra acts of worship.

Taking care of a child is also a form of worship, but an Umrah is not cheap and it should not be a series of stressful moments that make you let the extra acts of worship pass. After each prayer I unfortunately saw quite a few mothers with whining or crying babies/toddlers get up in a hurry and leave. What is different there than here: crying babies and children are looked at with much understanding, which allows you to deal with it more calmly.

Strollers are not allowed in the mosques so be sure to bring a carrier or sling for babies and toddlers.

In Medina, children under 10 are officially not allowed inside the mosque, although I have seen them here and there. Of course, you can pray outside, where there are also carpets, giant umbrellas and fans. In Mecca, small children are allowed inside the mosque.

There are few to no play facilities for children. The hotels are also not really set up for this in my opinion.

Provide your child with a name badge with your contact details. If possible, hide an AirTag in his or her clothes/backpack so that you can easily find each other if he or she gets lost in the crowd. If you have older children with a phone, definitely give them their own SIM card so that they can be reached.

Elderly and disabled

I have no personal experience with it, but from what I saw around me, the elderly and disabled are very well thought of and cared for. Both at the airport, in the hotels and outside there are wheelchairs available, sometimes for a fee.

The entrances of the mosques are equipped for wheelchairs. Folding chairs are hanging almost everywhere for those who cannot pray sitting down.

Both tawaf and sa'i can be performed on another quieter floor, if the ground floor is too busy. Sa'i can even be performed with a rented scooter on the top floor.

If you want to perform Umrah as a disabled person and you are not dependent on school holidays, then I would perhaps opt to perform the Umrah during a quieter period. For the Hajj you obviously have no choice. It goes without saying that this is the busiest period and according to my husband this is also physically and mentally not comparable to the Umrah.

In either case, it is essential that you travel with a reliable organization and take a family member (preferably of the same sex) with you who you know will take good care of you.

Some more golden tips

Read up on it in advance and learn the supplications and their meanings so that you are fully aware of what you are doing, saying and asking. However, do not be alarmed if you suddenly forget everything because of the emotion and overwhelm when you see the Kaaba or enter the Rawda. Keeping a dua book or your phone at hand can therefore be useful.

In my opinion, Umrah is not a pleasure trip. Don't spend too much time on food, shopping or photoshoots. Delete all social media apps from your phone. Your time there is short and precious. Plan those forms of entertainment around the prayers and extra worship and not the other way around. One prayer in the holy mosques has such a great reward that it is a shame to miss one. Be aware that you spend an average of one and a half hours on each prayer: performing the ritual washing, walking to the mosque, finding a place, performing the obligatory prayer that takes much longer than when you pray alone, voluntary prayers, dua, dhikr, reading the Quran, ... you will come home physically tired, but mentally stronger than ever. You have so much more strength and energy there.

Limit excursions on site, especially when they fall during prayer times. We visited the Quba mosque, a date garden, Uhud, the plain of Arafah and took the bus past Muzdalifa, the tent camps in Mina and Mount Nour where the cave Hira is located. It is important that you visit these places with the right intention. They are - apart from visiting the Quba mosque - not acts of worship, but it is very special to see all these parts of our Islamic history with your own eyes. Also definitely take a book about the sira and read it on the plane. Once there, you can immerse yourself even more.

You will be tested from time to time by the behavior of other pilgrims who are rude and impatient in the midst of the crowd. You will also see many questionable actions. Try not to be distracted by this and focus on the purpose of your journey and improving your own behavior. Take this home with you. Do not bear grudges against those who do not treat you right and continue to be good to everyone for the sake of Allah.

Buy some qurans and put them in the mosque as an ongoing sadaqa. Note: only official qurans (recognizable by a blue stamp) may be donated. Unofficial ones will be removed. In Mecca you have a bookstore 'Dawah corner bookstore' in the shopping center above the KFC where you can buy these.

Another form of sadaqa is to hand out snacks or fruit to your travel group or other pilgrims. Who also really deserves something tasty are the cleaners and guards of the mosques.

My wish for you

The Umrah and the stay in Mecca and Medina is not only the biggest imaan boost you can imagine, but also a reset button. Once there, apart from the fitna and rat race here in the West, you realize how much you are guided by the worldly. In Mecca and Medina you literally and figuratively return to the essence. You only have to focus on Allah and feeding your soul.

Everyone is there with the same goal. Everyone is equal there. You know no temptation or distraction there. You can be yourself. There is no place in the world where you will find more inner peace than there and I really recommend everyone to spend the money you want to spend on a luxurious all-in trip in a tropical country on the Umrah or Hajj. It is a journey, an experience, a lesson of inestimable value.

When I returned to Belgium, I fell into a black hole for a moment. I was back home, but it didn't feel like home anymore. I did feel the urge to hold on to the feeling I had in Mecca and Medina and to keep the focus on (extra) worship. You have earned so much hassanaat there with Allah's will, that once you are back, you don't want to give it up and you want to focus your life even more on Allah and His messenger.

Whenever we returned from a trip in the past, it was always with a bit of guilt because we had traveled to a place where we were stared at as Muslims, just because of who we are, what we believe and what we wear. A place where you come into contact with fitna no matter what. My daughter, who also wears a headscarf, was often angry and sad during those trips because she felt like the odd one out. Even in Morocco, a predominantly Islamic country. Today we were sitting at the table with our pubescent twins and it was the first time that I heard my daughter say after a trip that she really wanted to go back. At such moments you realize that we will never really be at home here in Belgium because a home is only a home when you can and may truly be yourself.

It's been exactly one week now and subhanallah, in my dreams I still fly back to the two holy mosques every night. I sincerely hope that these dreams will not disappear with time, but if they do, I still have the written memories and photos that take me back in my thoughts to the most beautiful places in the world.

Because I want all my sisters and brothers to taste the sweetness of this journey, I am sharing this blog. I hope it has inspired you and that you will do everything in your power to follow in my footsteps soon.

May Allah help you and your loved ones to perform Hajj or Umrah as soon as possible. Allahumma ameen!